A bit has happened since I wrote last, so I'll start with, well, the beginning :p
A bunch of us heard there was a Pokemon Center here in Tokyo, so we decided to hit it up and heal our Pokemon! I mean get souvenirs.
Didn't see anything I needed, but there was a great view of Tokyo Tower nearby!
For those who don't know, Tokyo Tower is a huge radio/tv tower that was modeled after the Eiffel Tower. I'm planning on going there (finally) with my host mom soon!
Next, I decided ya'll should learn how our Japanese style bath works!
Please the read the ever important/strange instructions to using our bath:
This is the entrance room area where you get nekkid:
These are the "showers." You sit on the little stool things and wash yourself off. I think you are supposed to use a bowl and fill it up, then dump it on yourself, but i always just keep the showerhead running. I'm actually starting to like these, but will definitely appreciate my shower at home -_-.
Note that the entire room is like a walk-in shower, so you can get water anywhere.
Next is the "bath," called "Ofuro" in Japanese. However, you DO NOT wash yourself in said bath. If you read the instructions (and of course you did) you know that this is a huge nono. The bath is for soaking only, and is AWESOME. You basically leave the tub full all day long for everybody to use, and then drain it at the end of the day. A little gross, but I guess you're supposed to be clean before you go in so it's all good right? By the way, the hot water that comes out of the faucet is BOILING hot, ouch.
Next, and this is mostly for my bro Seth, I found a Gundam Cafe in Akihabara!
Next, last weekend we took a day trip to a town a little outside Tokyo called Kamakura. Kamakura is known for lots of temples, as well as the "Daibutsu," or Big Buddha. Here are some pics around Kamakura!
A temple:
I think this is a Japanese cemetery? Don't quote me on that...
Some of the beautiful flowers around Kamakura:
At a temple:
A cool lamp (I think?)
Triforce?! No probably not:
Another cemetery?
Another pretty flower:
A Kamakura Kitty!
After this we went to the Daibutsu! It's a huge statue made out of metal, that's actually hollow. You can walk inside of it, though it's not too interesting. For more info on the big Buddha click here.
It even has windows in the back!
In the inside, you are looking up into the hollow head:
These are giant straw sandals for the Buddha should he ever decided to get up and walk around:
After that we went around Kamakura some more:
Here's a gold Buddha in one of the temples:
Here's a view of the ocean from one of the temples:
There was also a cave you could go into. In the cave there where statues of God's carved into the rock. You could buy a candle and burn it in front of whatever God you wanted to help you (for fortune, love, health, etc.) There were the most candles in front of the God/Goddess of love :)
After this we headed back. The train was REALLY crowded! Here's a pic of some of our group, from left to right, Peter, Yuuka, Wakana, and Matt:
Here's a sign of a dog takin' a leak. Apparently, according to our Japanese friends, it was an ad for incontinence for humans, not dogs :/.
The next day me and Matt decided to go on a walk through Yoyogi Park, the park we are right next to. Here's some pics!
We went on a Sunday, when all the strange people come out. Here's a video of a bunch of Greasers dancing to some rockin' tunes!
We decided to walk thru Harajuku and down to Shibuya. On the way we saw a Lotus dealership!
I also saw a Suzuki motorcycle exactly like mine back home, only in was a 125cc, not like the MONSTROUS 250cc I own.
When we got to Shibuya, we decided to get a good picture of the Shibuya Scramble!
And on the way back we saw a tree somehow growing out of someone's window...
HOW?!
On Thursday I had to go to a modern art museum, which was lame for the most part (modern art is a joke) but there was some cool stuff:
Some bags that were somehow cut to make trees. The second is a Mcdonald's bag:
A crazy sculpture made out of reflector pieces:
And the coolest part of the museum, a bunch of junk put together so it plays music!
That's it for now.
I leave you with this picture of me killing a Japanese kid:
